By Austin Agyenim Boateng
The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has issued a five-month ultimatum to commercial road transport operators to end the phenomenon of drivers unattached to taxi stations or transport organisations known as floating or Waawa drivers.
They are either to join a transport union or establish an association to operate legally.
The deadline is set for March 31, 2025.
The Public Relations Officer for the NRSA, Pearl Adusu Sateckla, revealed this during an interview with GBC in Sunyani.
Currently, some taxi drivers operate without registration under any transport union or association, commonly referred to as ‘floating vehicles or Waawaa vehicles’.
The L.I. 2468 mandates the NRSA to maintain a register of all entities providing road transport and related services, ensuring compliance with legal standards.
Unfortunately, this is not the case across all regions, as many Waawaa vehicles operate independently of any regulatory framework.
However, this is set to change with the NRSA’s five-month ultimatum, requiring these operators to join a transport union or form an association and establish a registered management team by March 31, 2025, or face cessation of operations. According to the NRSA’s Public Relations Officer, Pearl Adusu Sateckla, the authority is working towards registering all transport services through Transport Ghana, a technological platform designed to effectively monitor operators.
Sateckla emphasised the NRSA’s growing concern regarding the activities of floating drivers operating without regulation. To promote responsible driving behaviour, the NRSA plans to implement training programs for drivers and install monitoring devices in their vehicles to track their progress.